55 replies to this topic

[tac5]

Hello there-
I was just looking at pictures of schumi karting and it occured to me. What is the hardest thing to do in sports? I have been karting and i know what it takes to set a fast lap but i know that i couldnt come close to a pro. People here in america also say that hitting a baseball in the the majors is the hardest thing to do. so:

what is harder??

setting a fast time in motorsport or hitting a 80+ mph pitch??

[jpmontoya_fan]

For me is harder to take a car in a corner at 180 KPH, you have to keep you neck in the right place, you gotta keep your mind on the track ALL the time, while in baseball or another sport you have time to rest, etc. etc.

Anyway, I don't like baseball. Bye

[MONTOYASPEED]

Oh my God!

[schuy]

Well, in F1 you have to be fit, and you must be very intelligent and aware of the sorroundings.
In baseball, you need good timing.
In F1 you have to be consistent, not so in baseball.
You can hit an 80+ mph shot by accident but it would be very hard to do a fast lap in F1 racing.

Liran Biderman.

[Enkei]

NEVER USE BASEBALL AND F1 IN THE SAME SENTENCE

[schuy]

Originally posted by Enkei
NEVER USE BASEBALL AND F1 IN THE SAME SENTENCE

Hehe!

[stephwh]

Hitting an 8 degree driver off the cart path to a green 260 yards away protected by a pond.

[MONTOYASPEED]

Originally posted by Enkei
NEVER USE BASEBALL AND F1 IN THE SAME SENTENCE

NEVER USE ANY SPORT AND F1 IN THE SAME SENTENCE.

[Morcheeba]

Originally posted by jpmontoya_fan
For me is harder to take a car in a corner at 180 KPH, you have to keep you neck in the right place, you gotta keep your mind on the track ALL the time, while in baseball or another sport you have time to rest, etc. etc.

Taking a car in a corner at 180KPH is like facing a Randy Johnson fastball when he's only 90 feet away from you.

[autobot]

A good baseball player has a .300+ average i.e is successful 30% of the time. If you navigated a 180mph corner with that degree of success, your career would be very short lived. Don't kid yourself hitting a 92mph slider ain't easy. But as stated its pointless to draw comparisons, both require great skill.

[dick]

Hey, my two favorite sports! Believe it or not I love Baseball more. Maybe because I get to spend summers at Wrigley Field. As for the topic, the hand-eye coordination required to hit a baseball would be the difference. In F1 it would be the ability to withstand the G-forces. I think an F1 driver is more comparable to a fighter pilot than an athlete. I agree with Stephwh...golf is the most difficult.

[maclaren]

What a topic!!! LOL

How about Curling vs. F1

[KenC]

Originally posted by tac5
Hello there-
I was just looking at pictures of schumi karting and it occured to me. What is the hardest thing to do in sports? I have been karting and i know what it takes to set a fast lap but i know that i couldnt come close to a pro. People here in america also say that hitting a baseball in the the majors is the hardest thing to do. so:

what is harder??

setting a fast time in motorsport or hitting a 80+ mph pitch??

Sticking to the actual question, it's not really a good comparison. Lots of drivers could set "a fast time". And, a "80+mph" pitch, is not even a major league fastball. Lots of people could hit an "80+mph" pitch.

[ehagar]

I wouldn't compare the two sports.... Images of John Kruk (sp?) or Cecil Fielder come to mind. Not all good baseball players are athletes... But I won't deny that it is tough, and you have to be special to be the best.

That said, if you look at Grand Prix drivers from the 50's, some of them look rather pudgy. Grossly so by todays standards. There are people who call Montoya (or even Mansell) fat! But mentally it was probably a far more demanding era than what todays drivers go through.

The most difficult sport physically, in my opinion are the cycling tours (Tour de France, etc....).

There are some eco challenges and other forms of insanity, but I consider that another version of Russian roulette not sport!

I vaguely remember a Speedvision interview with James Garner comparing Grand Prix racing to other sports. The two mentioned were 12 rounds of boxing and hiting a major league pitch. He dismissed the baseball comparision and compared it to about 8 rounds of boxing....

[tac5]

all good points... I know its hard to compare but its so hard to quantify the skills/demands that motorsport requires. This was an attempt to do this.

[John B]

Hitting a baseball (and by 'hitting' I mean actually making solid contact and driving it) is really difficult, and if you don't start at an early age to get the timing down can be almost impossible. I'm not going to argue that it's more difficult than setting times close to Schumacher's, but it shouldn't be taken lightly. I know many people I've introduced to baseball tend to judge it by the slow pace and seeing 9 position players standing around, but the contest between pitcher and batter is a different matter altogether.

[Hunt the Shunt Fan]

Baseball is the greatest sport in the World. I would give anything to see my Cubs make it to the World Series. Sammy Sosa is awesome awesome awesome!!!

[stenney]

Originally posted by Hunt the Shunt Fan
Baseball is the greatest sport in the World. I would give anything to see my Cubs make it to the World Series. Sammy Sosa is awesome awesome awesome!!!

Then go watch baseball. Nothing can make me more angry than have a baseball game bump something I want to watch off TV. To each his own, but don't preach it here.

[Lateralus42]

When I first moved to the states I hated baseball, it looked so easy on TV. It wasnt until I started to play a few games and went to a major league ball park that I figured out that it wasnt easy, they just made it look easy! Hitting a major league baseball is really hard, it takes years of practice and alot of skill to be good at it. BTW catching a major league pop fly isnt that easy as well, those things go really high its amazing how they get under them without a problem.

[Smooth]

The better F1 to baseball comparison would be to a pitcher, able to throw a 90mph pitch into a 6 inch box from 90 feet away, 75 times in a night.

[Slyder]

Heres my point in this matter:

I like baseball, but ONLY playing it, I enjoy playing baseball. Watching baseball on TV sucks, I'd rather be playing it.

And of course I love F1 to death, but I haven't driven an F1 car yet. Maybe in the future.

[Morcheeba]

Originally posted by Hunt the Shunt Fan
I would give anything to see my Cubs make it to the World Series. Sammy Sosa is awesome awesome awesome!!!

Damm right ****!!

Images of John Kruk (sp?) or Cecil Fielder come to mind.

Images of Nigel Mansell

[Kaiser]

I don't think the comparison is to much of a stretch, as both are more of a skill, as opposed to a purely athletic endouver, such as track and field. Now, driving a modern GP car for 2 hours takes great stamina, and driving at such speed takes incerdible courage. Standing in a batters box takes great courage as well, and hitting a ball thrown by a major leauge pitcher must be insanely difficult, I can't even fathom it. I have trouble hitting 70 mph pitcher at the batting cages, and they come at the same speed, in the same spot every time. A real hitter has to deduce weather or not the pitch is a 92mph fastball, a 80 mph curve, or a 70 mph change up, throw in a nasty 88mph slider in the mix and the diffuculty level gets insane, hence the best in the world only have about a 30% success rate.

I love baseball, and F1

I vaguely remember a Speedvision interview with James Garner comparing Grand Prix racing to other sports. The two mentioned were 12 rounds of boxing and hiting a major league pitch. He dismissed the baseball comparision and compared it to about 8 rounds of boxing....

Has Garner done any of these things for real? Riding in the seat of a F1 car in the bed of a truck doesn't really count, IMO

[indycarjunkie]

I admit I don't know much about F1 but relatively speaking I think its harder to hit good major league pitchers (ie. not Texas Ranger pitching) than it is to drive a race car. Then again it is an apples and oragnes comparasin. To quote the great Jon Kruk about his gut..."I'm not an athelete, I'm a ballplayer!"

I know they're going to suck again this season but....GO REDS!!!!

[ehagar]

Originally posted by Kaiser

Has Garner done any of these things for real? Riding in the seat of a F1 car in the bed of a truck doesn't really count, IMO

For the movie Grand Prix, Baja Truck races, testing in an F5000 car (his team), and a few other things. Don't know the full list but as far as actors go, he was a pretty fair driver. But I think he was more of an enthusiast. Owned a couple of racing teams in the states.

[Julius]

Originally posted by tac5
setting a fast time in motorsport or hitting a 80+ mph pitch??

Along that line, here's a really cool question that's been plauging me since I was a litle kid:

"If Jesus and Santa Claus got in a fight, who would win?"

[lateralforce]

Between baseball and F1, NASCAR is harder.

[Lateralus42]

"Between baseball and F1, NASCAR is harder"


harder in what way? Just curious. I saw the entire Bristol race today, oh man that place was insane! Ive never seen anything quite like that.

[tifoso]

Just curious: how would you compare an F1 driver to a pro on the US PGA tour? A golfer, if he doesn't make the cut on Friday, goes home with no money...no appearance fees, no prize money. If he makes it to the final rounds, on Sunday, missing a putt could cost as much as $100,000 or more. That seems pretty tense to me. It doesn't compare with hand-to-eye coordination required by a pro baseball player, but for mental stress, I think it ranks pretty high.

[metz]

Remember,
Racing is a sport, but baseball is just a game...

[schuy]

Originally posted by maclaren
What a topic!!! LOL

How about Curling vs. F1

Hehe!;)

[Zmeej]

Lotsa great lines in this thread, (Julius, Marcheeba), but lotsa folks here also know their baseball.

KenC, read Kaiser's post. A "Salad Master" like Bill Lee threw his 80+ at the Big Red Machine and did pretty well. At the Show, it's not merely the speed, it's the movement and/or pitch-to-pitch variation. After three innings of striking out the side with 95+ laser beams, you'd get lit up like a New York night on the Fourth of July if your pitches didn't have action.

Maclaren
But wait a minute, it's an Olympic sport!

It does take tremendous ability to play baseball, and as some posters above pointed out, courage, but as dick kinda pointed out (sorry man, these pilotes ARE athletes), F1 is a sport played with grounded fighter jets.

Although the safety of F1 has improved dramatically, even being around the component parts is dangerous. There's nothing inherently toxic about a bat (minus the bad thoughts, I mean) or a glove.

Ultimately, however, the specific question Tac5 asked concerned the specifics of hitting a (quality) 80+ pitch, and setting a fast time (in qualifying).

I'd say these are comparable, because as somebody pointed out recently, there's about 200 people on the planet who can do it consistently and well, about 10 who are very good at it are the elite of the sport, and three of these folks are unreal -- like beings from another planet.

[aportinga]

Do you realize that the beer at the ball park is more expensive then at a GP??? That alone gives the hat to F1!

[_bigbadbob_]

I can't believe I'm actually answering this!!!

Here goes nothing: How many drivers in the world are capable of being competitive in an F1 car? Arguably, not much more than 22 (and even then...)

How many baseball players are there? Honestly, proper billiards is more complicated than baseball!

[F1Johnny]

The number of times baseball interupted F1 in the 90s when it was on ESPN does not warm me to the sport. I rate the pitchers and that IS IT. I am a huge cricket fan. Only one guy where's gloves in the field in cricket. The other guys one of which stoops almost right below the batsman has not gloves and better catch that ball when it is fired from the bat at him. A cricket ball is harder than a baseball. There is little or no placement. The cricket baseball comparison is more apt. MMMM a Paddock Club thread.

Baseball players are not athletes, steroid use is allowed. F1 is a sport and the drivers are athletes. A sport is an activity that requires the following elements IMO

Competition
Precision
Speed
Concentration & focus
Hand eye coordination
Sweat
Stamina
Strength
NO Steroids

[Breadmaster]

baseball = incomprehensible ****,

me, I prefer cricket.....

[Zmeej]

Hmmm
Well, baseball may be incomprehensible to you guys, but among the stuff that used to drive me up the wall about the Guinness Book of Records was that there was an incredible amount of opaque kaka about that "grasshopper" sport of yours.

I'll admit that it's more genuinely international than baseball (which is at best hemispheric + Japan), and I've been thinking of going to a test with somebody who could explain it to me, but watching it has defeated my admittedly low-candle-power brain in the past.

International tests between India and Pakistan are held in Toronto, because every other city/country fears being the object of a nuclear exchange. Next time this happens, give me a shout, and I'll buy your admission for some cheap seats (I'm poor).

Speaking of cheaper, beer had better be less expensive at GPs than at ball games! Although the prices at the Major League gate have gotten out of control lately (beer too), they're still nowhere as obscene as the cost of going to a race weekend...

[Julius]

Originally posted by Breadmaster
baseball = incomprehensible ****,

me, I prefer cricket.....

I have watched both Baseball and Cricket and I've decided that if I had a choice between those and watching flies f__k, I'd rather watch the flies "get it on".

[Breadmaster]

[indycarjunkie]

Originally posted by aportinga
Do you realize that the beer at the ball park is more expensive then at a GP??? That alone gives the hat to F1!

So how much does an Old Style set you back at Wrigley anyway?

[Zmeej]

Careful, Julius!
Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies could be gettin' ahold 'a yore steerin' wheel!;)

[Locai]

Let me put it this way...


If you swing at a 90mph+ fastball and miss, you look silly.


If you take a corner at 180mph and miss, you look like roadkill.

[George Bailey]

Originally posted by Locai
Let me put it this way...


If you swing at a 90mph+ fastball and miss, you look silly.


If you take a corner at 180mph and miss, you look like roadkill.

And yet all those fat Nascar guys that get ripped here for not being real drivers make the 180mph turn 1000 times each weekend, while Michael Jordan tired his best and never could learn to hit the 90mph fastball, much less a curve.

I think people are confusing "harder" with more dangerous. It's very dangerous to stand under a tree in a thunderstorm, but that doesn't make it difficult.


P.S. F1Johnny, steriods have been illegal in baseball since the late 60s.

[berge]

I feel safer strapped into a single seater with 5 point harness, nomex, helmet and the structure of the monocque around me than staring at a 90mph baseball coming at my head with only a dinky little plastic 'hat' to protect my brain.

never mind the risk to my jewels in case of mid-level frontal impact.

[baddog]

lets see.. fat blokes playing some local variant of rounders against superfit drivers from all over the world racing in amazing machines made by some of the worlds finest engineers on diverse circuits all over the planet..

hmmm its a toughy

Shaun

[dick]

Hunt the Shunt you're the man. I'll be watching Sammy in less than 2 weeks. I hope opening day is warm...yeah right. You got good taste in drivers also. James Hunt was always one of my favorites. By the way, I think Old Style was $4.50 at Wrigley last year or maybe even $4.75. I must of had too many of them, I can't remember! Lastly, I can't believe anyone would put a Nascar driver in the realm of an F1 driver. Most of those guys are so fat they wouldn't even fit in a Formula 1 car.

[George Bailey]

Originally posted by baddog
lets see.. fat blokes playing some local variant of rounders against superfit drivers from all over the world racing in amazing machines made by some of the worlds finest engineers on diverse circuits all over the planet..

hmmm its a toughy

Shaun

Good one.

Or...

Men with heroin addict physiques, whose only other competitive sporting option involves a horse, driving around for an hour every two weeks, against men with sprinters speed, powerlifters legs, and unrivaled hand-eye coordinaiton, playing a sport powered by their own bodies, not BMW.

Until they can control the bat from the dugout, I'm sticking with baseball.

[dick]

Right on George! In F1 the car is the star...in Baseball,(or any other real athletic endeavor),it's the man. A good hitter will hit with any bat, but I doubt Schumacher would win in a Mindardi. Car racing isn't all that much different than horse racing...the jockey doesn't win, the horse does.

[LB]

Originally posted by maclaren
What a topic!!! LOL

How about Curling vs. F1

Curling is actually bloody difficult as well...each sport has its own thing to make it difficult. if it wasn't we would all be making money doing the damn thing

[dick]

Sorry about the spelling of Minardi...must have been those $4.50 Old Styles!